by Peter Bodley
Managing editor

A man with a long criminal history has been accused in Anoka County District Court of assaulting a Coon Rapids Police officer.

John James Nesenson, 41, Minneapolis, was arraigned in court Nov. 25 on felony second-degree assault, gross misdemeanor fourth-degree assault and misdemeanor fleeing a police officer, no vehicle, charges.

At the time of his arrest, Nesenson was wanted on a felony warrant out of Hennepin County for a probation violation on a 2008 guilty plea to felony fleeing police in a motor vehicle, for which the court stayed a prison sentence and put Nesenson on probation for three years.

According to the state court Web site, Nesenson has long list of criminal offenses and was sent to prison by Meeker County District Court in 2002 for 78 months on a first-degree burglary guilty conviction.

The morning of Nov. 23, Coon Rapids Police responded to an apartment building on the 20 block of 97th Avenue on a report that a man named “John,” who police were looking for was there.

Police suspected it might be Nesenson because he had been associated with that residence in the past and police had dealt with him several times.

On arrival, police were told that Nesenson might have broken into one of the apartment units, then a man who lives on 97th Avenue yelled that the suspect was jumping out of a second-story window in the back of the apartment.

Police ran to the back of the building and saw a man they recognized from previous contacts as Nesenson, who fled on foot causing officers to lose sight of him.

But Officer Mark McDonough and his police dog, Logan, followed a scent from the area to a large shed in a backyard on the 40 block of 98th Avenue and seeing the door to the shed was not locked, he began yelling for the suspect to come out.

According to the complaint, the shed door was opened quickly and Nesenson appeared holding a yellow arrow with a silver point, which he was pointed directly at the officer.

Nesenson was about two feet from McDonough when he allegedly made a stabbing motion with the arrow directly at the officer, who stepped back and the arrow missed.

The complaint alleges that Nesenson ran and tried to jump over a six-foot fence, but Logan bit him in the leg as he was trying to climb the fence and McDonough grabbed Nesenson in an attempt to pull him back.

But Nesenson allegedly kicked McDonough multiple times in the face, chest and head and even when the officer punched him in the face, Nesenson continued to fight until other officers came to assist McDonough and Nesenson was taken into custody.

McDonough was taken to the hospital for treatment of a hand injury, but he was released and able to return to full duty, according to the Coon Rapids Police report.

Peter Bodley is at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it